Bonding compositions

ABSTRACT

Polymer bonding compositions having greater than about 1 milliequivalent primary amine/100 grams of the polymer, more preferably greater than about 3 milliequivalent non-tertiary amine/100 grams of the polymer. Preferably the polymer is not significantly crosslinked. These bonding compositions may be especially useful for bonding fluropolymers. Processes for making the novel polymers and the resulting multilayer bonded articles are described. The polymers include polymer-bonded ZNHLSi(OP) a (X) 3-a-b (Y) b units. The bonding composition may be used for making multi-layer polymer laminates such as tubes and films and containers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/903,832,filed Jul. 30, 2004, now pending, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. Ser. No. 10/826,182, filed Apr. 16, 2004, now pending, which was adivisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/862,124, filed May 21, 2001,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,753,087, the disclosures of which are hereinincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This present invention relates to bonding compositions and methods ofmaking. The bonding compositions may be especially useful for bondingfluoropolymers to various polymers.

BACKGROUND

Fluorine-containing polymers (also known as “fluoropolymers”) are acommercially useful class of materials. Fluoropolymers include, forexample, crosslinked fluoroelastomers and semi-crystalline or glassyfluoropolymers. Fluoropolymers are generally of high thermal stabilityand are particularly useful at high temperatures. They may also exhibitextreme toughness and flexibility at very low temperatures. Many ofthese fluoropolymers are almost totally insoluble in a wide variety ofsolvents and are generally chemically resistant. Some have extremely lowdielectric loss and high dielectric strength, and may have uniquenon-adhesive and low friction properties. Fluoroelastomers, particularlythe copolymers of vinylidene fluoride with other ethylenicallyunsaturated halogenated monomers such as hexafluoropropylene, haveparticular utility in high temperature applications such as seals,gaskets, and linings.

Multi-layer constructions containing a fluoropolymer enjoy wideindustrial application. Such constructions find utility, for example, infuel line hoses and related containers and hoses or gaskets in thechemical processing field. Adhesion between the layers of amulti-layered article may need to meet various performance standardsdependent on the use of the finished article. However, it is oftendifficult to establish high bond strengths when one of the layers is afluoropolymer, in part because of the non-adhesive qualities offluoropolymers. Various methods have been proposed to address thisproblem. One approach is to use an adhesion promoter between thefluoropolymer layer and the second polymer layer. Amines andaminosilanes have been used as adhesion promoters. Surface treatmentsfor the fluoropolymer layer, including the use of powerful reducingagents (e,g., sodium naphthalide) and corona discharge, have also beenemployed to enhance adhesion. In the case of fluoropolymers containinginterpolymerized units derived from vinylidene fluoride, exposure of thefluoropolymer to a dehydrofluorinating agent such as a base has beenused.

There is a need for improved amino functional polymeric bondingcompositions that can be created from conventional readily availablecommercial non-fluoropolymers by a simple and economical reaction whileretaining the valuable properties of the starting polymers, yet alsoallow bonding to difficult-to-bond substrates such as THV, PVDF and ETFEfluoropolymers. It is well known that the Si—N or Si—S bonds are weakerthan the Si—O bond. Therefore Si is bonded predominantly to oxygenrather than nitrogen in the inventive polymers.

SUMMARY

The present inventors have discovered the novel polymers described andclaimed herein, a process for creating them, and the resultingmultilayer bonded articles.

In one aspect the present invention provides a bonding composition. Thebonding composition comprises a polymer comprising greater than about 3milliequivalent non-tertiary amine per 100 grams of the polymer;

-   -   wherein the polymer comprises a plurality of internalized        polymer-bonded ZNHLSi(OP)_(a)(X)_(3-a-b)(Y)_(b) units;    -   wherein Z is hydrogen, alkyl, or substituted alkyl including        amino-substituted alkyl;    -   wherein L is a divalent alkylene or substituted alkylene linking        group and L may be interrupted by one or more divalent aromatic        groups or heteroatomic groups wherein P represents one or more        polymer chains;    -   wherein a is 1 to 3;    -   wherein a+b=1 to 3;    -   wherein each X is a hydrolytically stable group;    -   wherein each Y is a labile group; and    -   wherein X or Y, when multiple, may be independently chosen.

In another aspect the present invention provides a bonding compositioncomprising a polymer comprising greater than about 1 milliequivalentinternalized primary amine per 100 grams of the polymer;

-   -   wherein the polymer comprises a plurality of internalized        polymer-bonded ZNHLSi(OP)_(a)(X)_(3-a-b)(Y)_(b) units;    -   wherein Z is hydrogen, alkyl, or substituted alkyl including        amino-substituted alkyl;    -   wherein L is a divalent alkylene or substituted alkylene linking        group and L may be interrupted by one or more divalent aromatic        groups or heteroatomic groups;    -   wherein P represents one or more polymer chains;    -   wherein a is 1 to 3;    -   wherein a+b=1 to 3;    -   wherein each X is a hydrolytically stable group;    -   wherein each Y is a labile group; and    -   wherein X or Y, when multiple, may be independently chosen.

Alkyls and alkylenes include substituted alkyls such that thesubstitution does not interfere with the desired outcome.

In another aspect the present invention provides a bonding compositioncomprising a polymer comprising greater than about 1 milliequivalentinternalized non-tertiary amine per 100 grams of the polymer;

-   -   wherein the gel content is less than about 10% by weight;    -   wherein the polymer comprises a plurality of internalized        polymer-bonded ZNHLSi(OP)_(a)(X)_(3-a-b)(Y)_(b) units;    -   wherein Z is hydrogen, alkyl, or substituted alkyl including        amino-substituted alkyl;    -   wherein L is a divalent alkylene or substituted alkylene linking        group and L may be interrupted by one or more divalent aromatic        groups or heteroatomic groups;    -   wherein P represents one or more polymer chains;    -   wherein a is 1 to 3;    -   wherein a+b=1 to 3;    -   wherein each X is a hydrolytically stable group;    -   wherein each Y is a labile group; and

wherein X or Y, when multiple, may be independently chosen. In anotheraspect the present invention features processes for making a multilayerbonded article comprising co-extruding or laminating the inventivebonding composition layer with a fluoropolymer layer.

In another aspect the bonding composition comprises the reaction productof an amino substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent and apolymer that has a plurality of polar functionalities combinativelyreactive with the silane ester or ester equivalent. By combinativelyreactive is meant that a group on the polymer reacts to displace theester or ester equivalent groups. The resulting polymer is covalentlybonded to the silane via the silicon atom. In a related aspect thebonding composition comprises the reaction product of an aminosubstituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent and a polyamide or athermoplastic polyurethane wherein the reaction product has internalizedSi—O—Si and NHR groups. In still another related aspect the bondingcomposition comprises the reaction product of an amino substitutedorganosilane ester or ester equivalent and a polymer with anhydridefunctionality wherein the amount of aminosilane is sufficient to preventsignificant crosslinking and wherein the reaction product hasinternalized Si—O—Si and NHR groups.

In another aspect the present invention features a process for makingthese bonding compositions comprising extruding a mixture of an aminosubstituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent and a polymer thathas a plurality of polar functionalities combinatively reactive with thesilane ester or ester equivalent to displace the ester or esterequivalent groups and wherein the polymer is covalently bonded to thesilane via a silicon atom.

In another aspect the present invention features the multilayer bondedarticles comprising the bonding compositions of the present invention.By way of example the multilayer bonded articles may include films,tubes and containers.

Examples of polar functionalities include —OH, —Si(OH)₃, —Si(OR)₃,—O(C═O)R, —O(C═O)OR, —O(C═O)NHR where R may be alkyl, arylalkyl or aryl,and may contain O, S or N heteroatoms or combinations of theseheteroatoms. These polar functionalities preferably do not react with orform salts with the amine of the amino-substituted organosilane ester orester equivalent. Thus, for example, preferably a polar functionalityshould not be a carboxylic acid or sulfonamide as the amine of theamino-substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent may react withthese functionalities to severely lower the bonding reactivity of theamine. The bonding composition is made by intimately mixing the silaneand polymer, optionally at elevated temperature, in order to react thetwo materials. As a first action, a modified polymer may result, whichmay subsequently bond to further aminosilane via siloxane linkages. Thisadmixture and pre-reaction is believed to afford a more effectiveattachment of an aminosilane to a substrate than can be achieved bysimple coating of aminosilane to a substrate. The free amine of thesenew polymers is intended to be useful in creating bonding between thebonding composition and a substrate or substrates. As can be seen inTable 1, mixer torques and temperatures may increase when theaforementioned combinative reaction occurs (examples 1-8), while in theabsence of an organosilane ester or ester equivalent no mixer torqueincrease occurs, or even a decrease occurs (comparative examples A-Dwhich have amine functionality but no siloxane functionality). Examples2 and 5 are not examples of aminosilanes useful for this invention asthey do not contain amine, yet they do show an increase in torque,indicating a reaction of the silane ester or ester equivalent with thepolymer, unlike the case with comparative examples A-D which have nosilane ester or ester equivalent. Example 7 which has only tertiaryamine (not primary or secondary amine useful for bonding) is also not anaminosilane useful in this invention, yet it again does show a torqueincrease because of the reaction of the silane ester or ester equivalentand polymer. However, a torque increase is not a necessity to indicatethe formation of the new polymers. For example, the use of an M-typesilane ester or ester equivalent structure bearing non-tertiary aminewould form a new polymer of this invention but would not be expected togenerate a torque increase. Table 2 shows the improved peel strengths ofthis invention with various substrates and with various ratios ofpolymer to silane. Multi-layer structures made from these bondingcompositions and substrate(s) may consist of a simple 2 layer structure,for example, the bonding composition itself co-extruded with afluoropolymer, or they may have 3 or more layers, for example afluoropolymer/bonding composition/nylon laminate.

Multi-layer structures made using these bonding compositions typicallyinclude at least one fluoropolymer substrate although the substrateoptionally may be a hydrocarbon polymer or any substrate reactive withthe free amine of the reacted bonding composition. The utility of thesenew polymers results from their ability, under suitable heated contact,to form strong bonds to any of various polymers mentioned above,specifically fluoropolymers wherein a hydrogen atom is adjacent to afluorine atom.

The amino-substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent bears onthe silicon atom at least one ester or ester equivalent, typically 2 ormore typically 3 such groups which may be the same or different. Thebonding composition may include a phase active agent. Preferably, thephase active agent may be a phosphonium salt, an ammonium salt, afluoroaliphatic sulfonyl compound, or an arylcarboxylic acid.

Bonded multi-layer materials may have combined physical and chemicalproperties possessed by both fluoropolymers and non-fluorinatedpolymers, resulting in less expensive but nevertheless well-performingand perhaps better-performing articles. For example, the fluoropolymercomponent may be used in automotive hose and container constructions,protective barrier films, anti-soiling films, low-energy-surface PSAtapes, and coatings for aircraft. The bonding process may includelamination or co-extrusion. The bonding composition may be used to forma composite article having a fluoropolymer layer bonded to anon-fluoropolymer layer in a multi-layer material.

In this application:

“interrupted by one or more divalent aromatic groups or heteroatomicgroups” means having at least an alkylene or substituted alkylene groupbetween the aromatic group or heteroatomic group and the nitrogen.

“T-type siloxy structure” means a trioxysilane structure wherein theother silane-attached atom is carbon.

“D-type siloxy structure” means a dioxysilane structure wherein theother silane-attached atoms are carbon.

“M-type siloxy structure” means a monooxysilane structure wherein theother silane-attached atoms are carbon.

“internalized polymer-bonded ZNHLSi(OP)_(a)(X)_(3-a-b)(Y)_(b) units”means molecular units distributed throughout the polymer in a bulkfashion (i.e. not simply a surface distribution) that are covalentlybonded to P where P represents one or more polymer chains includingaminosilane-modified polymer chains.

“aminosilane-modified polymer chains” means polymer chains that containthe unit ZNHLSi(OP)_(a)(X)_(3-a-b)(Y)_(b) where wherein Z is hydrogen,alkyl, or substituted alkyl including amino-substituted alkyl; wherein Lis a divalent alkylene or substituted alkylene linking group and L maybe interrupted by one or more divalent aromatic groups or heteroatomicgroups;

-   -   wherein P represents one or more polymer chains;    -   wherein a is 1 to 3;    -   wherein a+b=1 to 3;    -   wherein each X is a hydrolytically stable group;    -   wherein each Y is a labile group; and    -   wherein X or Y, when multiple, may be independently chosen.

“ester equivalent” means groups such as silane amides (RNR′Si), silanealkanoates (RC(O)OSi), Si—O—Si, SiN(R)—Si, SiSR and RCONR′Si that arethermally and/or catalytically displaceable by R″OH. R and R′ areindependently chosen and can include hydrogen, alkyl, arylalkyl,alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, and substituted analogs such asalkoxyalkyl, aminoalkyl, and alkylaminoalkyl. R″ may be the same as Rand R′ except it may not be H.

“not significantly crosslinked” means that the polymer gel content isless than 10% as determined by ASTM D2765-01 Note 2 (“Determination ofGel Content and Swell Ratio of Ethylene Plastics”).

“primary amine” means amine reactive (presumably dehydratively) with anappropriately tagged benzaldehyde (e.g. 4-methylthiobenzaldehyde) sothat retention of the aldehyde presumably in the form of an imine can beeasily detected and measured.

“non-tertiary amine” means the sum of primary and secondary amine.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the description and claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one aspect the present invention provides polymeric aminosilanebonding compositions which may be employed to bond to other polymers,preferably fluoropolymers, to form laminates of two or more layers.

The bonding composition may be made by reacting an amino-substitutedorganosilane ester (e.g. alkoxy silane) or ester equivalent and apolymer that has a plurality of polar functionalities combinativelyreactive with the silane ester or ester equivalent. Theamino-substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent bears on thesilicon atom at least one ester or ester equivalent group, preferably 2,or more preferably 3 groups. Ester equivalents are well known to thoseskilled in the art and include compounds such as silane amides (RNR′Si),silane alkanoates (RC(O)OSi), Si—O—Si, SiN(R)—Si, SiSR and RCONR′Si.These ester equivalents may also be cyclic such as those derived fromethylene glycol, ethanolamine, ethylenediamine and their amides. R andR′ are defined as in the “ester equivalent” definition in the Summary.Another such cyclic example of an ester equivalent is

In this cyclic example R′ is as defined in the preceding sentence exceptthat it may not be aryl. 3-aminopropyl alkoxysilanes are well known tocyclize on heating and these RNHSi compounds would be useful in thisinvention. Preferably the amino-substituted organosilane ester or esterequivalent has ester groups such as methoxy that are easily volatilizedas methanol so as to avoid leaving residue at the interface which mayinterfere with bonding. The amino-substituted organosilane must have atleast one ester equivalent; for example, it may be a trialkoxysilane.For example, the amino-substituted organosilane may have the formulaZNH-L-SiX′X″X′″where Z is hydrogen, alkyl, or substituted alkyl includingamino-substituted alkyl;

where L is a divalent straight chain C1-12 alkylene or may comprise aC3-8 cycloalkylene, 3-8 membered ring heterocycloalkylene, C2-12alkenylene, C4-8 cycloalkenylene, 3-8 membered ringheterocycloalkenylene or heteroarylene unit. L may be interrupted by oneor more divalent aromatic groups or heteroatomic groups. The aromaticgroup may include a heteroaromatic. The heteroatom is preferablynitrogen, sulfur or oxygen. L is optionally substituted with C1-4 alkyl,C2-4 alkenyl, C2-4 alkynyl, C1-4 alkoxy, amino, C3-6 cycloalkyl, 3-6membered heterocycloalkyl, monocyclic aryl, 5-6 membered ringheteroaryl, C1-4 alkylcarbonyloxy, C1-4 alkyloxycarbonyl, C1-4alkylcarbonyl, formyl, C1-4 alkylcarbonylamino, or C1-4 aminocarbonyl. Lis further optionally interrupted by —O—, —S—, —N(Rc)—, —N(Rc)—C(O)—,—N(Rc)—C(O)—O—, —O—C(O)—N(Rc)—, —N(Rc)—C(O)—N(Rd)—, —O—C(O)—, —C(O)—O—,or —O—C(O)—O—. Each of Rc and Rd, independently, is hydrogen, alkyl,alkenyl, alkynyl, alkoxyalkyl, aminoalkyl (primary, secondary ortertiary), or haloalkyl; and each of X′, X″ and X′″ is a C1-18 alkyl,halogen, C1-8 alkoxy, C1-8 alkylcarbonyloxy, or amino group, with theproviso that at least one of X′, X″, and X′″ is a labile group. Further,any two or all of X′, X″ and X′″ may be joined through a covalent bond.The amino group may be an alkylamino group. Examples ofamino-substituted organosilanes include 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane(SILQUEST A-1110), 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (SILQUEST A-1100),3-(2-aminoethyl)aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (SILQUEST A-1120), SILQUESTA-1130, (aminoethylaminomethyl)phenethyltrimethoxysilane,(aminoethylaminomethyl)phenethyltriethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane (SILQUEST A-2120),bis-(γ-triethoxysilylpropyl) amine (SILQUEST A-1170),N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltributoxysilane,6-(aminohexylaminopropyl)trimethoxysilane, 4-aminobutyltrimethoxysilane,4-aminobutyltriethoxysilane, p-(2-aminoethyl)phenyltrimethoxysilane,3-aminopropyltris(methoxyethoxyethoxy)silane,3-aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane, oligomeric aminosilanes such asDYNASYLAN 1146, 3-(N-methylamino)propyltrimethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane,3-aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane, 3-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane,3-aminopropyldimethylmethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyldimethylethoxysilane,

Additional “precursor” compounds such as a bis-silyl urea[RO)₃Si(CH₂)NR]₂C═O are also examples of amino-substituted organosilaneester or ester equivalent that liberate amine by first dissociatingthermally. The amount of aminosilane is between 0.01% and 10% by weightrelative to the functional polymer, preferably between 0.03% and 3%, andmore preferably between 0.1% and 1%. As functional polymers differ, thisamount will be chosen to provide the ability for melt-processing such asextrusion while typically maximizing the amine content of thesilane-modified polymer, a simple task for one skilled in the art ofmelt-processing. Since it is preferred to maintain melt processabilityof the polymer the type of aminosilane ester or ester equivalent mayneed be adjusted to accommodate this. For example, if a very highmolecular weight starting polymer is reacted with an aminosilane esteror ester equivalent with a T-type siloxy structure the resulting polymermay not be melt processable. In this case, one skilled in the art mightsubstitute a D-type or even an M-type siloxy structure for theaminosilane ester or ester equivalent to allow melt processability ofthe resulting polymer.

The aminosilane preferably includes primary amine as this is expected tobe more reactive in bonding applications. Primary amine content may bedetermined in the bonding composition by an analytical scheme involvingreaction of the amine with a benzaldehyde derivative containing a“taggant” atom such as sulfur (e.g. 4-methylthiobenzaldehyde). “Taggant”means having an easily analyzable substituent such as sulfur or bromine,etc. If for example the starting polymer had high levels of sulfur oneskilled in the art would use a determinable benzaldehyde such as4-bromobenzaldehyde. Other sufficiently sensitive tagging procedures,for example, might include fluorine by NMR, radiochemical methods suchas carbon-14 or tritium, an attached dye or colored group by visible orUV spectroscopy, or X-ray fluorescence. The total non-tertiary aminecontent can be measured by using known reactions such as the reaction ofappropriately tagged aliphatic or aromatic sulfonyl fluorides as in thepresence of tertiary amines to form sulfonamides.

Useful polymers that are used to react with the aminosilanes may have anumber average molecular weight greater than 1000, preferably greaterthan 10,000 and more preferably greater than 100,000. Examples of suchuseful polymers that have a plurality of polar functionalities includeanhydride modified polyethylene polymers commercially available fromE.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del., under the tradedesignation BYNEL co-extrudable adhesive resins; urethane polymers suchas MORTHANE L424.167 (MI=9.7), PN-04 or 3429 from Morton International,Seabrook, N.H., and X-4107 from B.F. Goodrich Co., Cleveland, Ohio;ATEVA EVA 1240A, EVA-9 (ATEVA 1070) and EVA-12 (ATEVA 1240),ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers commercially available from ATPlastics, Brampton, Ontario, Canada; ELVAX 450, an ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer having 18 wt % vinyl acetate and a Vicat softeningtemperature of 61° C. commercially available from E.I. DuPont de Nemoursof Wilmington Del.; modified polyolefins such as ADMER NF456A (MAPE)commercially available from Mitsui Chemicals America Inc., Purchase,N.Y.; terpolymers of ethylene, butyl acrylate and glycidylmethacrylatesuch as ELVALOY PTW commercially available from DuPont; EMAC 2202Tavailable from Chevron Chemical Co., Houston, Tex.; AQUATHENE AQ120-000,an ethylene-vinyl trialkoxysilane (2% by weight vinyl trialkoxysilanemonomer) copolymer available from Equistar Chemicals LP, (Houston,Tex.). Mixtures of any of these polymers may also be used. The mixturesmay be made before or after reaction with the aminosilane.

The bonding composition may also include a phase active agent tofacilitate effective bonding by, for example, partially dissolving inthe fluoropolymer or the substrate or both. The phase active agent maybe an ammonium compound, a phosphonium compound, a sulfonium compound, asulfoxonium compound, an iodonium compound, a fluoroaliphatic sulfonylcompound, an arylcarboxylic acid, or combinations thereof. Examplesinclude benzyltriphenylphosphonium chloride, benzyltributylammoniumchloride, an arylammonium salt, a triarylsulfonium chloride.

The fluoropolymer layer may be a partially fluorinated polymer such as aterpolymer (HTE) of hexafluoropropylene (HFP), tetrafluoroethylene (TFE)and ethylene (E) and may be either melt-processable such as in the caseof a terpolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene andvinylidene fluoride (THV), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a copolymerof tetrafluoroethylene and ethylene (ETFE), and other melt-processablefluoroplastics, or may be non-melt processable such as curedfluoroelastomers. Fluoroelastomers may be processed before they arecured by injection or compression molding or other methods normallyassociated with thermoplastics. Fluoroelastomers after curing orcrosslinking may not be able to be further processed. Fluoroelastomersmay be coated out of solvent in their uncrosslinked form. Fluoropolymersmay also be coated from an aqueous dispersion. Mixtures offluoropolymers may also be used. In preferred embodiments, thefluoropolymer may include THV, HTE, ETFE and PVDF.

Preferably, the fluoropolymer is a material that is capable of beingextruded or coated as from solution or dispersion. Such fluoropolymerstypically are fluoroplastics that have melting temperatures ranging fromabout 100° C. to about 330° C., more preferably from about 150° C. toabout 270° C. Preferred fluoroplastics include interpolymerized unitsderived from vinylidene difluoride (VDF) and tetrafluoroethylene and mayfurther include interpolymerized units derived from otherfluorine-containing monomers, non-fluorine-containing monomers, or acombination thereof. Examples of suitable fluorine-containing monomersinclude tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), hexafluoropropylene (HFP),chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE), 3-chloropentafluoropropene,perfluorinated vinyl ethers (e.g., perfluoroalkoxy vinyl ethers such asCF₃OCF₂CF₂CF₂OCF═CF₂ and perfluoroalkyl vinyl ethers such as CF₃OCF═CF₂and CF₃CF₂CF₂OCF═CF₂) and vinyl fluoride. Examples of suitablenon-fluorine-containing monomers include olefin monomers such asethylene, propylene, and the like.

VDF-containing fluoroplastics may be prepared using emulsionpolymerization techniques as described, e.g., in Sulzbach et al., U.S.Pat. No. 4,338,237 or Grootaert, U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,002. Usefulcommercially available VDF-containing fluoroplastics include, forexample, THV 200, THV 400, THV 500G, THV 610X fluoropolymers (availablefrom Dyneon LLC, St. Paul, Minn.), KYNAR 740 fluoropolymer (availablefrom Atochem North America, Philadelphia, Pa.), HYLAR 700 (availablefrom Ausimont USA, Inc., Morristown, N.J.), and FLUOREL FC-2178(available from Dyneon LLC).

A particularly useful fluoroplastic includes interpolymerized unitsderived from at least TFE and VDF in which the amount of VDF is at least0.1% by weight, but less than 20% by weight. Preferably, the amount ofVDF ranges from 3 to 15% by weight, more preferably from 10 to 15% byweight.

Examples of suitable fluoroelastomers include VDF-HFP copolymers,VDF-HFP-TFE terpolymers, TFE-propylene copolymers, and the like.

Other examples of fluoropolymers include THV (a terpolymer ofCF₂═CF₂/CF₃CF═CF₂/CF₂═CH₂), HTE (a terpolymer ofCF₂═CF₂/CF₃CF═CF₂/CH₂═CH₂), Dyneon PVDF 11010 (a copolymer of CF₂═CH₂(85 wt %)/CF₃CF═CF₂ (15 wt %)) and Dyneon PVDF 31508 (a copolymer ofCF₂═CH₂ and CF₂═CFCl).

Useful non-fluoropolymer layers that may bond to the bondingcompositions of this invention include polyamides, polyurethanes,polyesters, polyimides, polycarbonates, polyureas, polyacrylates,polymethylmethacrylate, or a mixture thereof. For example, the polymermay be a non-fluorinated elastomer, acrylonitrile/butadiene rubber(NBR), chlorinated-and-chlorosulfonated polyethylene, chloroprenerubber, epichlorohydrin (ECO) rubber, blends of polyvinyl chloride andNBR, and ethylene-acrylate copolymer rubber.

Useful polyamides that may be bonded to the bonding composition includethe well-known nylons available from a number of sources. Particularlypreferred polyamides are nylon-6, nylon-6,6, nylon-11, and nylon-12. Inaddition, other nylon materials such as nylon-6,12, nylon-6,9, nylon-4,nylon-4,2, nylon-4,6, nylon-7, and nylon-8 may be used, as well asring-containing polyamides such as nylon-6,T and nylon-6,1. Suitablenylons include VESTAMID L2140, a nylon-12 available from Creanova, Inc.of Somerset, N.J. Polyether-containing polyamides, such as PEBAXpolyamides (Atochem North America, Philadelphia, Pa.), may also be used.

Useful polyurethane polymers that may be bonded to the bondingcomposition include aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic, and polycyclicpolyurethanes. These polyurethanes are typically produced by reaction ofa polyfunctional isocyanate with a polyol according to well-knownreaction mechanisms. Useful diisocyanates for employment in theproduction of a polyurethane includedicyclohexylmethane-4,4′-diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate,1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate, cyclohexyl diisocyanate, anddiphenylmethane diisocyanate. Combinations of one or more polyfunctionalisocyanates may also be used. Useful polyols includepolypentyleneadipate glycol, polytetramethylene ether glycol,poly(ethylene oxide) glycol, poly(propylene oxide) glycol,polycaprolactone diol, poly-(1,2-butylene oxide) glycol, triols,tetraols, higher polyols and combinations thereof. Chain extenders suchas butanediol or hexanediol may also be used in the reaction. Usefulcommercially available urethane polymers include MORTHANE L424.167(MI=9.7), PN-04 or 3429 from Morton International, Seabrook, N.H., andX-4107 from B.F. Goodrich Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

Useful polyolefin polymers that may be bonded to the bonding compositioninclude copolymers of ethylene, propylene, and the like with, forexample, acrylic monomers. Such copolymers may be prepared byconventional free radical polymerization or catalysis of suchethylenically unsaturated monomers. The degree of crystallinity of thepolymer may vary. Carboxyl functionalities may be incorporated into thepolymer by polymerizing or copolymerizing functional monomers such asacrylic acid or by modifying the polymer after polymerization, e.g., bygrafting, by oxidation, or by forming ionomers. Examples include acidmodified ethylene as well as ethylene-alkylacrylate copolymers. Suchpolymers and copolymers generally are commercially available, forexample, as ENGAGE (Dow-DuPont Elastomers, Wilmington, Del.) or EXACT(ExxonMobil, Linden, N.J.). An example of an ethylene-methylacrylatecopolymer is EMAC (Chevron Chemical Co., Houston, Tex.).

Useful polyacrylates and polymethacrylates that may be bonded to thebonding composition include polymers of acrylic acid, methyl acrylate,ethyl acrylate, acrylamide, methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate, ethylmethacrylate, and the like.

Useful polycarbonate polymers that may be bonded to the bondingcomposition include aliphatic polycarbonates such as polyestercarbonates, polyether carbonates, and bisphenol A derivedpolycarbonates, and the like.

Useful polyimide polymers that may be bonded to the bonding compositioninclude polyimide polymers made from the anhydride of pyromellitic acidand 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether available from E.I. DuPont de Nemours andCompany under the tradename KAPTON. Variations include KAPTON H, KAPTONE and KAPTON V, among others.

Useful commercially available elastomers that may be bonded to thebonding composition include NIPOL 1052 NBR (Zeon Chemical, Louisville,Ky.), HYDRIN C2000 epichlorohydrin-ethylene oxide rubber (Zeon Chemical,Louisville, Ky.), HYPALON 48 chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber (E.I.DuPont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del.), VAMAC ethylene-acrylateelastomer (E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. Wilmington, Del.), KRYNAC NBR(Bayer Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa.) and PERBUNAN NBR/PVC blend (Bayer Corp.,Pittsburgh, Pa.).

The bonding composition may be applied to a polymer surface by a processsuch as, for example, lamination, powder spray coating, dispersion(preferably non-aqueous) and preferably extrusion. Typically the bondingcomposition may exist as pellets that are extruded onto the substrate,or co-extruded with the substrate, to form a bonded layer.

The bonding composition and polymer surface may contact each other, forexample, under pressure, and be heated to bond the layers. Heat isapplied at a temperature and time suitable to form a bond. For example,the temperature may be between 50 and 300° C., between 100 and 250° C.,between 125 and 225° C., or between 150 and 220° C.

In many cases, heat, pressure, or combinations thereof, may be desiredduring bonding. Suitable heat sources include, but are not limited to,ovens, heated rollers, heated presses, infrared radiation sources, hotair streams, flame, and the like. Suitable pressure sources are wellknown and include presses, nip rollers, and the like.

The invention will now be described further by way of the followingexamples.

EXPERIMENTAL

Dyneon THV500 is a terpolymer of TFE/HFP/VDF, having a melt temperatureof 165° C.; HTE-1500 and HTE-1700 are terpolymers ofhexafluoropropylene, teterafluoroethylene and ethylene; Dyneon PVDF11010 is a copolymer of hexafluoropropylene and vinylidene fluoridehaving a melting point of 160° C.; all available from Dyneon, L.L.C. ofOakdale, Minn.

BYNEL 3101 is an acid modified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymeravailable from DuPont, Wilmington, Del.

MORTHANE-PU is a polyurethane available from Morton International ofChicago, Ill.

ELVALOY PTW is a terpolymer of ethylene, butyl acrylate andglycidylmethacrylate commercially available from DuPont, Wilmington,Del.

EVA-9 (ATEVA 1070) and EVA-12 (ATEVA 1240A) are ethylene-vinyl acetatecopolymers commercially available from AT Plastics, Brampton, Ontario,Canada.

ELVAX 3170 is an ethylene-vinyl acetate resin available from DuPont,Wilmington, Del.

ADMER® NF456A (MAPE) is a modified polyolefin commercially availablefrom Mitsui Chemicals America Inc., Purchase, N.Y.

“DDDA” refers to 1,12-dodecanediamine available from Sigma-Aldrich,Milwaukee, Wis.

“Silane-1” refers to 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane available fromSigma-Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.; also available as SILQUEST A-1100 (WitcoCorp, Greenwich, Conn.)

.“Silane-2” refers to 3-(2-aminoethyl)aminopropyltrimethoxysilaneavailable from Sigma-Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis. as 80% purity or 97%purity. All examples used the 97% purity except example 34 as stated;also available as SILQUEST A-1120 (Witco Corp, Greenwich, Conn.)

A-1120 DLC is a 70% A-1120 (3-(2-aminoethyl)-aminopropyltriethoxysilane)“dry” liquid concentrate on Microcel E diatomaceous earth powder(available from Natrochem, Savannah, Ga.).

“GCDPTS” refers to 3-(glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (98%) availablefrom Sigma-Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis. (from Dow Corning as Z-6040).

“IOTS” refers to isooctyltriethoxy silane available from Sigma-Aldrich,Milwaukee, Wis.

“N,N-dimethylsilane-1” refers toN,N-dimethyl-3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane available from Sigma-Aldrich,Milwaukee, Wis.

“LDPE” refers to low-density polyethylene available as Huntsman 1058available from Huntsman, Derry, N.H.

Nylon-12 (L25A) and Nylon-12 (L16A) are available commercially fromEMS-GRIVORY CH-7013 Domat/Ems, Switzerland

AQUATHENE AQ120-000 is an ethylene-vinyl silane (2% by weight vinylsilane monomer) copolymer available from Equistar Chemicals LP, Houston,Tex.

VFEPX 6815G is a fluoropolymer available from Dyneon LLC, Oakdale, Minn.

FORTIFLEX B53-35H-100 is a “high density polyethylene” copolymeravailable from BP Solvay, Houston, Tex.

DRIERITE is a heat activated (250 to 320° C.) form of calcium sulfatehaving a powerful affinity for water while being inert to a wide varietyof organic compounds and solvents. It is commercially available fromW.A. Hammond Drierite Co., Xenia, Ohio.

Peel Strength Test Methods

Peel strength was used to determine the degree of bonding. For allexamples except example 33-36 peel strength was determined in accordancewith ASTM D-1876 (T-peel test). A SinTech 20 test machine (MTSCorporation, Eden Prairie, Minn.) was used with a 100 mm per minutecrosshead speed. The peel strength was calculated as the average loadmeasured during the peel test. The measured peel strengths are listed inTable 2. The peel strength results were obtained by pressing sheetsagainst fluoropolymer sheets at 200° C. for 2 min, except for the peelresults of nylon sheets which were obtained at 220° C. for 3 min.

In example 33-36 in order to test the peel strength a strip of thespecimen to be tested, 0.5-inch (1.3 cm) wide and at least 1 inch (2.5cm) in length, was prepared. Each layer was placed in an opposed clampof an Instron Tensile Tester (model 5564) obtained from InstronCorporation, Canton, Mass. Peel strength was measured at a cross-headspeed of 150 millimeters/minute as the average load for separation ofthe two layers. Reported peel strengths represent an average of at leastfour samples.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry

The specimens were prepared by loading and weighing the material intothe TA Instruments Q1000 standard aluminum sample pans followed byanalysis using the TA Instrument Q1000 (TA Instruments Inc., New Castle,Del.) in standard DSC mode. A linear heating rate of 10° C./min wasapplied and the specimens were subjected to a heat-cool-heat profileranging from −90° C. to 200° C. Peak integrations were evaluated usingthe heat flow curve. Peak integration results are normalized for sampleweight and reported in J/g.

The “heat-cool-heat” DSC sequence provides valuable information on thepolymers. The first heating provides information relating to thesample's history, by virtue of any non-reversible sub-meltingtransitions, as these may be attributed to regions of metastableorganization resulting from processing. The melting point for polymersis usually taken at the peak of the endotherm, and shows excellentreproducibility. (For small molecules the extrapolated “onset point”correlates very well with capillary melting points.)

Upon cooling from temperatures well above the melting point, differencesare seen between similar polymers, owing to reproducible supercoolingbehavior related to molecular weights. (Formation of a crosslinkedpolymer typically produces large changes.) As DSC cooling is relativelyrapid, the polymer develops a wide distribution of metastable regionshaving lower heats of transition. (Heats of fusion or crystallizationare proportional to areas—in Joules per gram, J/g—of deviations from thelinearly extrapolated melted-polymer curve regions.) The result is thatsuch areas from cooling (and second heating) are normally lower thanthose from the first heating, as is the case here.

The second heating, like the first, tends to produce equilibration amongpolymer sub-structures upon approach to the melting point. As a resultthere is little change in the melting point, unless the first heating istoo high and causes decomposition. Thus, the reproducible melting pointsof otherwise identical polymers may show small increases with increasingmolecular weight. To be meaningful, it is helpful if contaminants havebeen washed out of the samples, as was done here.

Test Method for Determining Cross-Linking by Gel Content

ASTM D2765-01 Note 2 (“Determination of Gel Content and Swell Ratio ofEthylene Plastics with the following variations: A jacketed Soxhletapparatus corresponding in design to CG-1371, Chemglass ScientificApparatus, Vineland, N.J. is used, with p-xylene (b.p. 138° C./Aldrich99%) as solvent. The extraction temperature is held constant at 138° C.by the design of the apparatus. Antioxident is omitted, as it wouldimmediately be washed away from the sample by the Soxhlet extraction.

Analytical Method for Determining Primary Amine

General Procedure:

An unreactive solvent or solvent mixture for the sample is chosen. Thesolvent must be capable of, at least, significant swelling of thepolymer at an appropriate temperature. The solvent is dried thoroughly.The polymer samples are exposed to an excess of a tagged benzaldehyde inthe solvent at a specific temperature for an effective period of time,thoroughly removing water. Excess reagent is removed by Soxhletextraction or multiple precipitation while maintaining dry conditions.The recovered samples are analyzed for increased taggant contentrelative to appropriate blank samples. The increase is taken as ameasure of free primary amine content. Obvious interferences, such as“activated methylene” groups capable of condensing with benzaldehydesunder the intended conditions must be avoided, blocked or subtracted, aswell understood by analytical chemists.

Specific Procedure for EVA:

For EVA-9, EVA-12, ASEV-9/0.3 and ASEV-12/0.3 methyl tertiary butylether (MTBE) at its boiling point, 55° C. caused very substantialswelling and thus this solvent was selected.

The formation of a “Schiff's Base” (imine) by the reaction of4-(methylthio)benzaldehyde with a primary amine is an equilibriumreaction involving elimination of water. Review articles (Sprung, Chem.Rev. 1940, 26, 297 and Layer, Chem. Rev. 1963, 63, 489) and referencescited therein fail to provide information on the position ofequilibrium. Therefore, it was necessary to establish the analyticalimportance of stringent drying. For this purpose chemically inert 280°C. activated calcium sulfate (DRIERITE) is effective.

Each test was conducted with ten replicates. Ten accurately weighed 6 mg(approximate) disks of polymer were placed together in an 8 mL vial withPTFE-lined screw cap. To the vial was added 5.00 mL dry MTBE and (insome cases as indicated in Table 4) 0.100 mL 4-CH₃SC₆H₄CHO (Aldrich,95%). Additionally (as indicated in Table 4), 1.00 g. DRIERITE, capableof accepting 0.057 g. H₂O, was added. Each vial was maintained at 55° C.(±5°) for at least 15 hr., then was cooled and the contents filtered torecover the polymer. The polymer disks were then washed with 1 mL MTBEto remove adhering reagent, weighed to estimate swelling, and placed ina “micro” (12 mm outside diameter) Soxhlet thimble. For certain samples(noted in Table 4) the Soxhlet thimble had been dried at 130° (with theloss of 0.023 g, presumed to be water). The boiling flask of the “micro”Soxhlet apparatus contained 20.00 mL MTBE. In certain cases the flaskalso contained 5.00 g DRIERITE as noted in Table 4. The Soxhletapparatus was fitted with a 1 meter air condenser to avoid moisturecondensation, and topped by a DRIERITE drying tube. The solvent wasrefluxed by means of a steam bath, resulting in a fill/drain cycle aboutevery 1.3 minutes. This was continued for at least 15 hours or at leastabout 700 cycles. The disks (or particles) were quickly removed from thethimbles and weighed to estimate swelling. The disks were then allowedto dry in air to an apparent constant weight. The disks (or particlestotaling 5 to 6 mg) were individually weighed, and analyzed by means ofan Antek 9000 VSA NS analyzer (Antek Instruments, Houston, Tex.) fortotal nitrogen and sulfur simultaneously. The +/− values for N and S inTable 4 indicate the standard deviation (σ) variability in differentlocations, sampled widely, for the punched samples as a result ofincomplete silane mixing. The +/− values for the S/N ratios for each ofthe punched samples lie close to one another, such that the +/− valueslisted in Table 4 are for 3σ, and represent a 99.6% confidence interval.The values in parentheses in Table 4 represent incomplete aldehydereaction as shown by improvement with longer reaction times.

Standards for the Antek instrument were prepared using sulfamethazine(LECO, St. Joseph, Miss., carbon=51.78%, hydrogen=5.07%, sulfur=11.52%,and nitrogen=20.13% ), a NIST-traceable standard for organic elementalanalysis. Portions of sulfamethazine were weighed to the nearestmicrogram and dissolved into OMNISOLV (EM Science) tetrahydrofuran (THF)at accurately known volume. A gas-tight microliter syringe was used totransfer measured volumes of these standard solutions into 6 mm diameterquartz open-capsules. These standard solutions were dried under a streamof nitrogen gas on a steam-heated hotplate (85 degrees C.). The capsuleswere queued and analyzed in the ANTEK analyzer. Quartz open-capsuleswere used to introduce samples because there is no commercial source forcombustible capsules which have sufficiently low nitrogen content to beused for the lowest level nitrogen samples (ca. 0.1 mcg nitrogen). Theinstrument was configured with dual detectors in tandem to monitornitrogen and sulfur simultaneously for each sample. Interferences fororganic nitrogen using the ANTEK 9000VSA appear to be limited tocontaminating material(s) that contain organic nitrogen; non-nitrogencontaining organics (e.g. silicones) do not interfere. Organic nitrogenis freed from the sample matrix by pyrolysis/combustion with oxygen andconverted to excited state nitrogen dioxide by reaction with ozone. Theexcited state nitrogen dioxide emits light (this process ischemiluminescence), which is detected in a flow cell by aphotomultiplier. Sulfur is determined by conversion to sulfur dioxide,excitation with a UV lamp, and detection by the emitted fluorescence.The nitrogen detector is ahead of the sulfur detector in the flow path.

The data are consistent with at least four conclusions: 1) The untreatedEVA resins have little nitrogen or sulfur, and neither is present at alevel that interferes with the study described here; 2) Theaminosilane-bearing polymer samples have nitrogen not present in thestarting EVA polymers and the level of nitrogen present is only slightlydiminished upon extraction with solvent (i.e. the nitrogen which ispresent is predominantly reacted onto the polymer); 3) Thesulfur-to-nitrogen ratios observed for the aminosilane-bearing polymersreacted in this procedure indicate up to 47 percent of the nitrogen ispresent as a reactive primary amine. The MTBA is reacted and retained ina 1:2 elemental ratio with nitrogen even upon extended extraction withfresh solvent; 4) Starting EVA resins without aminosilane attachment donot retain MTBA under the same conditions. The results in Table 4indicate the importance of the reaction conditions. Careful drying, useof a drying agent and lengthy reaction times are critical to getaccurate results. Adequate time is best determined by experiment, whenfurther increase in time provides no significantly larger uptake of thebenzaldehyde.

EXAMPLES 1-33 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES A-H

Compositions of examples 1-33 and comparative examples A-H were preparedby mixing polymer resins and amino alkoxysilanes in desired ratios asrecorded in Tables 1 and 2. The mixtures were compounded in aPLASTICORDER (an internal bowl mixer equipped with roller blades,available from C.W. Brabender Instruments, Inc., South Hackensack, N.J.)at 140-180° C. for 10 to 20 minutes at a mixing rate of 70-80revolutions per minute (rpm). After mixing, a portion of the compoundedmaterial was pressed into a 0.20 mm thick film by pressing betweenTEFLON (DuPont, Wilmington, Del.) cloth at 200° C. in a Wabash heatedhydraulic press (Wabash MPI, Wabash, Ind.) at approximately 30 Kpapressure for approximately 30 seconds. The film was cut into 1.25cm×5.08 cm coupons for subsequent conversion into peel test specimens,as are the material film(s) to be bonded.

EXAMPLE 34 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE I

39.52 g AQUATHENE AQ120-000 was mixed at 180° C. for five minutes in aHaake HBI System 90 mixer, available from Thermo Electron Corporation(Waltham, Mass.) and equipped with a 50 ml bowl. After the torque hadstabilized, 0.48 g of silane-2 (80% purity) was added. The mixture wasblended between 80-100 rpm and after five minutes the mixing was stoppedand the material was removed from the bowl mixer.

This compounded material was pressed into plaques at 149° C. for oneminute at a pressure of 2.3 Mpa in a Wabash heated hydraulic press. Fortesting as a bonding layer two procedures were followed. In the firstprocedure, referred to as thermal lamination, a 0.25 mm thick layer ofTHV 500 was pressed against the compounded material. A “slip” (a pieceof TEFLON cloth intended to preclude bonding) had been inserted betweenthe two layers at one end to create an approximately 2.5 cm “startercrack” (the non-bonded region produced by the “slip”, intended to permitindependent grasping of the layers by the testing apparatus) and thelaminate was heated at 200° C. for one minute at 1.4 Mpa. In the otherprocedure, referred to as vacuum lamination, the THV 500 (0.25 mmthickness)/compounded material sandwich with a slip was set in a vacuumlaminator (inner dimensions 38 cm×30 cm), available from VacuumLaminating Technology Inc. (Fort Bragg, Calif.). The vacuum laminatorwas pre-heated to 160° C. and 185° C. in a Wabash heated hydraulicpress. After the test specimen had been set in the vacuum laminator, avacuum (5 mbar) was pulled on the vacuum laminator such that thesilicone rubber bladder was tightly sealed on top of the test specimen.The vacuum lamination lasted for eight minutes and no external forcebesides that from the vacuum was applied to the test specimen. Thethermal lamination at 200° C. resulted in a peel strength of 22 whilethe vacuum laminations resulted in peel strengths of 4 (160° C.) and 7(185° C.) N/cm.

AQUATHENE, without the silane-2 addition, was tested for bonding to THV500 under the thermal lamination conditions described above and thesample delaminated before it could be tested (Comparative Example I).

EXAMPLE 35

An EVA (poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate)), purchased from Aldrich, with avinyl acetate content of 33% by weight and a melt flow index of 43, wasmixed in a Haake HBI System 90 mixer, available from Thermo ElectronCorporation (Waltham, Mass.) and equipped with a 50 ml bowl, at 180° C.for five minutes, the weight of the EVA was 40 g. After the torque hadstabilized, 0.20 g of silane-2 (80% purity), i.e. 0.50% silane byweight, was added. The mixture was blended between 80-100 rpm, afterfive minutes the mixing was stopped and the material was removed fromthe bowl mixer.

This compounded material was pressed into plaques at 149° C. for oneminute at a pressure of 2.3 Mpa in a Wabash heated hydraulic press. Fortesting as a bonding layer a vacuum laminating procedure was followed.In this procedure, a THV coupon (0.05 mm thick)/compounded materialcoupon/0.061 mm thick PET film coupon (the latter a biaxially orientedfilm available from 3M) sandwich with 2.54 cm “slips”0 between alllayers was set in a vacuum laminator (inner dimensions 38 cm×30 cm),available from Vacuum Laminating Technology Inc. The vacuum laminatorwas pre-heated to 160° C. (without pressure) in a Wabash heatedhydraulic press. After the test specimen had been set in the vacuumlaminator a vacuum (5 mbar) was pulled on the vacuum laminator such thatthe silicone rubber bladder was tightly sealed on top of the testspecimen. The vacuum lamination lasted for eight minutes and 48 kPaexternal pressure was applied with the press for the last 5 minutes ofthe lamination cycle.

To test the peel strength a strip of the specimen to be tested, 0.5-inch(1.27 cm) wide and at least 1 inch (2.54 cm) in length (beyond the“slip”) was prepared.

Each layer was placed in an opposed clamp of an Instron Tensile Tester(model 5564) obtained from Instron Corporation, Canton, Mass.

Peel strength was measured at a cross-head speed of 150millimeters/minute as the average load for separation of the two layers.Reported peel strengths represent an average of at least four samples.

EXAMPLE 36

Same as example 35 except 0.80 g silane-2 was used.

EXAMPLE 37

In this example a composite tube was produced having three layers. Thefirst layer was VFEPX 6815G, the tie layer was ELVAX 3170+1% by weightA-1120 DLC, and the third layer was FORTIFLEX B53-35H-100. It wasprepared using a Guill model 523 (Guill Tool and Engineering Co., Inc.,West Warwick, R.I.) three-layer in-line extrusion head, and equippedwith a wedge ring (central aperture diameter of 0.72 inches (1.8 cm)), adie with an inner opening of 0.866 inches (2.20 cm) and a straight pinof outside diameter 0.642 inches (1.63 cm).

The second layer was extruded onto the first layer while it was still inthe extrusion tooling. Subsequently, the third layer was coated onto thesecond layer, also within the extrusion head, such that when the tubeexited the extrusion head, it had a VFEPX 6815G first layer, a tie layerof Elvax 3170+1% by weight A-1120 DLC as the second layer, and aFORTIFLEX B53-35H-100 third layer. To form the first layer, VFEPX 6815Gwas extruded using a 1.5-inch (3.8 cm) single screw extruder availablefrom Harrel, Inc. of East Norwalk, Conn. (Temp Profile: Zone 1=130° C.,Zone 2=185° C., Zone 3=185° C., Zone 4=195° C.). The second layer wasextruded onto the first layer while it was still within the extrusionhead using a 1.0-inch (2.5 cm) single screw extruder available fromHarrel, Inc. (Temp Profile: Zone 1=130° C., Zone 2=180° C., Zone 3=205°C.). Next the third layer was extruded onto the second layer while itwas still within the extrusion head using a 2.0 inch (5.1 cm) singlescrew extruder available from Harrel, Inc. (Temp Profile: Zone 1=185°C., Zone 2=200° C., Zone 3=210° C.). The extrudate exited a tube die ata line speed of 20.3 feet/minute (fpm) (6.2 meters/minute) and wasquenched using a vacuum water chamber. The resultant composite tube hada nominal inner diameter of 6 mm and a nominal outer diameter of 8 mm.The bond strength between the VFEPX 6815G and the tie layer was 38 N/cmin the tube sample.

The tie layer, Elvax 3170+1% by weight A-1120 DLC, was made bycompounding using a Berstorff 25 mm twin screw co-rotating extruder(Berstorff GMBH, Hannover, Germany). The polymeric resin was added inZone 1 of the extruder via a volumetric feeder, AccuRate (Whitewater,Wis.), at a rate of about 40 lbs/hr (18.2 kg/hr). The A-1120 DLC powderwas added into Zone 7 of the extruder, an open port, using anothervolumetric feeder, AccuRate (Whitewater, Wis.), at a rate of about 0.4lbs/hr (0.18 kg/hr). The feed rate of the AccuRate volumetric feeder wasadjusted to result in a final loading of 1% by weight of the A1120-DLC.The speed of the twin screws was 310 rpm. The temperatures of theextruder were set at Zone 1—170° C., Zone 2—170° C., Zone 3—175° C.,Zone 4—175° C., Zone 5—175° C., Zone 6—180° C., Zone 7—185° C., Zone8—187° C., Zone 9—191° C., Zone 10—207° C. Zone 10 represented the diezone. The molten compounded polymer exited the strand die, was quenchedusing a water bath and was finally pelletized (sheared into pellets).

Peel strength measurements are determined as follows:

A tube is slit about in half along its length prior to preparing thestrip, than a nominal 0.5-inch (1.3 cm) wide strip of sample (at least 1inch (2.54 cm) in length) to be tested is prepared. A “starter crack”(1.27 cm minimum length) is initiated and the peel measured in thelength direction.

Each layer is placed in an opposed clamp of an Instron Tensile Tester(model 5564) obtained from Instron Corporation, Canton, Mass. Peelstrength was measured at a crosshead speed of 150 millimeters/minute asthe average load for separation of to the two layers.

Reported peel strengths represent an average of at least four samples.

EXAMPLE 38

In this example a multilayered film was produced having two layers. Thebase layer was THV 500G, available from Dyneon, Oakdale, Minn. The caplayer was ATEVA EVA 1240A. The film was prepared using a 2½″ singlescrew HPM extruder (Crompton Davis-Standard Killion, Pawcatuk, Conn.)and a 1¾″ single screw Killion extruder (Crompton Davis-StandardKillion, Pawcatuk, Conn.) equipped with a 34″ multi-manifold die.

The cap layer, tie-layer, was prepared by compounding the EVA polymerand silane-1 at a ratio of 99:1 wt. % loading. The compounding was donein a Haake 25 mm Rheocord co-rotating twin screw extruder, Model #5000(Waltham, Mass.). The EVA and silane were pre-blended prior toextruding. The polymeric resin blend was added in zone 1 of the extruderusing a gravity feeder. The speed of the twin screw was 90 rpm. Thetemperature profile of the extruder was set at Z1—170° C., Z2—180° C.,Z3—190° C., Z4—200° C. The die zone was set at 210° C. The moltencompounded polymer exited the strand die, was quenched using a waterbath and was pelletized.

The fluorothermoplastic and tie-layer were dried in a UniDyne ConveyingDrier and UniDyne Tray Drier, respectively. The temperatures were set onthe extruder/die control panel. Base layer extruder profile Z1—240° C.,Z2—250° C., Z3—260° C., Z4—270° C., Z5—275° C. and die set point was275° C. Cap layer extruder profile set points were Z1—120° C., Z2—140°C. and Z3—160° C. The cap layer was extruded onto the base layer uponexiting the die. The extrudates exited the die at a line speed of 30 fpmand were quenched between two counter-rotating rolls. The resultant filmcomposite had a total thickness of 50-60 mm. The peel strength betweenthe fluorothermoplastic and tie-layer was in excess of 25 N/cm. TABLE 1Siloxy Formation Shown by Torque Changes Initial Torque Temp. Polymer(lb Changes Example Silane reagent resin Temp. (° C.) inches) Torquechange (° C.) EX1 Silane-1 Admer 172 860 +940 1 EX2 IOTS Admer 172 860+300 4 EX3 GCDPTS Admer 172 860 +380 2 EX4 Silane-1 Bynel3101 105 1065+800 0 CE A DDDA Bynel3101 105 1065 No 0 change EX5 IOTS Bynel3101 172612 +250 2 EX6 Silane-1 EVA-9 170 411 +60 0 CE B DDDA EVA-9 170 411 −200 EX7 NN-dimethyl EVA-9 170 411 +30 0 silane-1 EX8 Silane-1 Nylon-12 190NM +1000 0 CE C Dodecylamine EVA-12 172 454 −40 0 CE D DodecylamineEVA-9 171 612 −26 0NM = not measured

TABLE 2 Bonding Compositions and Peel Strengths Polymer/silane inbonding composition by Fluoropolymer Peel strength Example Bondingcomposition weight Substrate (N/cm) CE E LDPE/silane-2 99/1 THV500 0 CEF LDPE/silane-2 99/1 PVDF 11010 0 EX9 EVA-9/silane-1 99/1 THV500 8 EX10EVA-9/silane-2 99/1 THV500 16 EX11 EVA-9/silane-1 99/1 HTE-1500 >10 toreEX12 EVA-9/silane-1 99.5/0.5 THV500 8 EX13 EVA-9/silane-2 99.75/0.25THV500 19.2 EX14 EVA-9/silane-1/silane-2 99.5/0.25/0.25 THV500 >20 EX15EVA-12/silane-2 99/1 THV500 >25 EX16 EVA-12/silane-2 99/1 HTE-1500 16EX17 EVA-12/silane-2 99/1 PVDF 11010 6 EX18 EVA-12/silane-2 99.75/0.25THV500 13.4 EX19 EVA-12/silane-2 99/1 HTE-1500 5.2 EX20MORTHANE-PU/silane-1 99.25/0.75 THV500 4 EX21 MORTHANE-PU/silane-199.25/0.75 HTE-1500 3.5 EX22 MORTHANE-PU/silane-2 99.25/0.75 THV500 13EX23 MORTHANE-PU/silane-1 99.25/0.75 HTE-1500 >20 EX24BYNEL-3101/silane-2 99.5/0.5 THV500 8 EX25 BYNEL-3101/silane-2 99.5/0.5HTE-1500 9.1 EX26 Nylon-12/silane-1 99.5/0.5 THV500 14 EX27Nylon-12/silane-1 99/1 THV500 15.8 EX28 Nylon-12/silane-2 99.5/0.5THV500 >14 ripped EX29 Nylon-12/silane-2 99/1 THV500 >18 ripped EX30ELVALOY/silane-1 99/1 THV500 >25 EX31 ELVALOY/silane-1 99/1 PVDF11010 >25 EX32 ELVALOY/silane-1 99/1 HTE-1700 >25 EX33 EVA-12/silane-2 90/10 THV500 4.3 EX34 AQUATHENE/silane-2 99/1 THV500 22 (thermallamination) EX35 poly(ethylene-co-vinyl 99.5/0.5 PET 14 acetate/silane-2EX36 poly(ethylene-co-vinyl 98/2 PET 19 acetate/silane-2 EX37ELVAX3170/A-1120 99/1 VFEPX 6815G 38 DLC EX 38 ATEVA EVA 99/1 THV500 >251240A/silane-1 CE G BYNEL 3101/IOTS 99/1 THV500 0 CE H ADMER/IOTS 99/1THV500 0 CE I AQUATHENE 99/1 THV500 0 (thermal lamination)

EXAMPLE 39

In order to study the nature of the reaction between the aminosilane andthe polymer with polar functionalities which yields the bondingcomposition of the current invention a series of extraction and bondingexperiments were performed. These show that the mix is not just a blendbut is a new polymer. The alkoxy groups of the silane are lost(evaporated) and the polymer is attached to the aminosilane by Si—O—Cbonding. In the case of an ethoxysilane reacted with EVA it would beexpected that ethyl acetate is evolved while with EVOH ethanol would beevolved. While it could be argued that any amino functional polymermight be directly bondable, a significant advantage of the presentinvention is the ability to convert readily available polymers in-situinto new amino functional analogs retaining the valuable properties ofthe starting polymers but also allowing bonding to difficult-to-bondsubstrates such as THV and ETFE fluoropolymers.

Examples of such a new amine-bearing polymer, aminoalkyl-silylatedethylene-vinyl acetate (ASEV) were made by thermally reacting(“compounding”) ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers withaminoalkyltrialkoxysilanes. In this reaction, believed to be catalyzedby the amino groups, some or all of the alkoxy groups were displacedwith formation of siloxy bonds to the polymer chains. By thus bridgingtwo chains an increase of molecular weight occurs, which would result incrosslinking if too high a level of silane were used. It is understoodthat limitations on mixing velocity during thermal reaction can resultin local variations in growth of molecular weight within a polymersample; this may be controlled and minimized by process improvements.

Two samples of ASEV, namely ASEV-9/0.3 and ASEV-12/0.3 were chosen forswelling/extraction studies. These were derived respectively fromcommercial EVA-9 and EVA-12 (dried carefully to eliminate moisture thatwould tend to produce interfering siloxane formations) by thermalreaction (“compounding” ) with 0.30% by weight of SILQUEST A-1120H₂N(CH₂)₂NH(CH₂)₃Si(OCH₃)₃, moisture being excluded.

Comparative swelling/extraction studies were performed on the EVA-9 andEVA-12, and on ASEV-9/0.3 and ASEV-12/0.3. In the latter nomenclaturethe 9 & 12 designate the weight % of vinyl acetate in the copolymerswhile the 0.3 specifies the aminosilane level as added to the polymer.Typically there are extractable materials in polymers, as is shown here.It is intended by such extractions that any free aminosilanes becompletely removed from the ASEV polymers, lest they contaminate theinterface and confuse the interpretation of later successful thermalbonding to fluoropolymers. It is intended to demonstrate that suchbondability is inherent in these novel ASEV polymers and is not theresult of a free bonding agent migrating to the interface.

Two Soxhlet extractions were set up to run simultaneously on a 4-mincycle for 100 hr., each using ca. 150 mL fresh OMNISOLV (EM Science,Gibbstown, N.J.) methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), b.p. 55.2°. The MTBEhad been freshly passed through a column of WOELM (M. Woelm, Eschwege,Germany) neutral alumina. The extraction thimbles had been dried at 130°and were provided with cut-off “cap” thimbles containing 5 g. offreshly-reactivated (at 320° ) DRIERITE to assure no moisture couldreach the samples. The reflux condensers bore drying tubes withDRIERITE. Silicone grease was rigorously excluded.

In one thimble was placed 10.00 g. of ASEV-9/0.3, in the other 10.00 g.ASEV-12/0.3, as multiple coupons of about 40 mils thickness. At the endof 100 hrs. (ca. 1500 cycles) upon immediate weighing at 27° C. theMTBE-swollen ASEV-9/0.3E coupons weighed 13.00 g. and the ASEV-12/0.3Eweighed 13.20 g. This weight gain verified that all portions of thecoupons were accessible for extraction of free constituents. “E”designates “cleansed by extraction”.

The coupons were placed in weighing containers that were exposed toflowing dry nitrogen inside a tube that protected them from any accessby air or moisture. After about. 50 hr the weights were: ASEV-9/0.3E,9.814 g., ASEV-12/0.3E, 9.448 g. After 200+ hr. the weights were:ASEV-9/0.3E, 9.772 g., ASEV-12/0.3E, 9.427 g. The drying is virtuallycomplete. Extractables are 2.3% by weight of ASEV-9/0.3 and 5.7% ofASEV-12/0.3.

A similar extraction procedure was performed upon beads of EVA-9 andEVA-12; the fresh “Omnisolv” MTBE was not further dried with alumina,and cap-thimbles were omitted, as no components were moisture-sensitive.At the end of 100 hrs (ca. 1500 cycles) the EVA-9E weighed 14.35 g., theEVA-12E 15.12 g. at 27°. After 50 hr. the weights were: EVA-9E 9.714 g.,EVA-12E 9.584 g. After 200 hr. the weights were: EVA-9E 9.608 g.,EVA-12E 9.437 g. Extractables are 4.0% of EVA-9 and 5.8% of EVA-12.

An obvious difference exists between the ASEV samples and theircorresponding EVA “parent” polymers with regard to swelling by MTBE. Thelower swellability is a direct result of growth of molecular weight dueto siloxy bridging, and is proof that the silane is internalized, asmere surface silane could not so modify the swelling.

There is no observed difference between ASEV-12/0.3E, EVA-12, andEVA-12E in mechanical properties and the polymer does not becomesignificantly harder on reaction with aminosilane as judged by Shore Dhardness. All are 32±1 at 25° C.

The ASEV-12/0.3E sample was tested for cross-linking by gel content perthe modified ASTM D2765-01 as described under EXPERIMENTAL. For thisspecific sample, the following procedure and modifications were used:The material was not ground. No antioxidant was added. The sample wascarefully weighed (0.10128 g) and placed in a 12 mm OD×50 mm longthimble in a jacketed “micro” Soxhlet specially constructed in-house butcorresponding in design to CG-1371, Chemglass Scientific Apparatus,Vineland, N.J. The Soxhlet was run for 17 hours at 1.7 minutes perfill/drain cycle (600 fill/drain cycles total). The porosity of thethimble was less than that of the ASTM D2765-01 Note 2 thimble and thuseven more retentive of gel than the ASTM test. The residual product wasdried in a stream of dry nitrogen gas to constant weight of 0.00136 gwhich corresponds to a gel content no greater than 1.34% by weight.While significant cross-linking is here considered to be greater than10% gel content, typically the gel content should be below 5% and moretypically below 2% by weight.

To further verify that these new ASEV polymers do contain aminoalkylsilane throughout their bulk, i.e., internalized, rather than being amere surface attachment along with some other (unspecified) bridging,X-ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental analyses were performed, with theresults (counts per sec.): ASEV-9/0.3E 2200, ASEV-12/0.3E 3000, EVA-9E160, EVA-12E 230. The greater-than-tenfold increase in silicon despitethe low (0.30 wt %) reactant level signifies internalized, not surface,silicon.

In order to distinguish between aminoalkyl silane and adventitioussilica (SiO₂) and silicates, ²⁹Si MAS-NMR (Magic Angle Spinning NMR) wasutilized. This technique detects characteristic NMR signals in solidpolymers that are rigid on the NMR time scale. The very low level ofsilane required data collection for an entire weekend to bring thesignal for “T-type” silane (RSiO₃) in ASEV-9/0.3E conclusively above“noise”. SiO₂ and silicates cannot give this signal. The presence ofbound (reacted) aminoalkyl silane is proved. In similar fashion thepresence of “D-type” (RR′SiO₂) or “M-type” (RR′R″SiO) silane structures,from internalizing RR′SiY₂ or RR′R″SiY respectively, can be detected anddistinguished from “T-type” structures and from adventitious silicatesand silica. T-type and D-type silanes are preferred. T-type are mostpreferred.

Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopic analyses of the surfacesof EVA-12 and ASEV-12/0.3E fails to detect any aminoalkyl silane at thesurface of the latter. It is not sensitive to components at the 0.3%level. The speculation that bonding to fluoropolymers is due to themigration of aminoalkyl silane to the surface is thus invalid.

The thoroughly-cleansed ASEV-9/0.3E and 12/0.3E coupons were providedfor testing for thermal bonding to fluoropolymers. After extraction thebonding of ASEV-12/0.3 to THV-500 yielded a range of peel strengths of10.5 to 11.2 lb-inches (1.2 N-m to 1.3 N-m) when tested several times.Likewise the bonding of ASEV-9/0.3 to THV500 yielded a range of peelstrengths of 5 to 8 lb-inches (0.6 N-m to 0.9 N-m). This demonstratesthat a polymer with internalized aminosilane is inherently bondable tofluorinated polymers and indicates that the higher the amine content thebetter the bonding.

EVA-9E, ASEV-9/0.3E, EVA-12E and ASEV-12/0.3E were submitted fordifferential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine whether DSC showsdifferences indicative of crosslinking. The samples were prepared andtested according to the procedure under DIFFERENTIAL SCANNINGCALORIMETRY. The DSC results are shown in Table 3.

A detailed examination of the DSC results reveals that the ASEV sampleshave slightly higher melting points and higher heats of fusion than theprecursor EVA samples. Crosslinked polymers are well known to have lowerheats of fusion than their precursors, owing to the restriction of someof the alignment necessary for crystallization. Here the varied increasein molecular weights caused by random bridging by —O—Si—O— (and perhaps—O—Si—O—Si—O—) units actually slightly increases the tendency andcapability for alignment, and thus heat of fusion and melting point.

The same effect is seen upon supercooling, where the ASEV samples beginto crystallize at significantly higher temperatures and exhibit higherheats of crystallization than their EVA precursors. This stronglyindicates a greater alignment ability, rather than less as would occurif the ASEV samples were crosslinked and thus not free to align ascompletely.

Non-reversible pre-melting endotherms in the first heatings are locatedat about 84 C and 46 C for all samples, and are attributable tofreezing-in of metastable chain arrangements formed respectively duringSoxhlet extraction (at 55 C) by, and during evaporation (at 25 C) of,the methyl t-butyl ether swellant.

Glass transition temperatures, measured traditionally at the midpoint ofthe shift in heat capacity (H), do not differ significantly, being allabout −30 C. Crosslinked polymers typically have higher glass transitiontemperatures than their precursors or analogs.

The DSC results verify that the ASEV species are not crosslinkedpolymers. TABLE 3 Differential Scanning Calorimetry Data for Example 391^(st) 1^(st) 1^(st) heat 2^(nd) 2^(nd) heat heat metastable CoolingCooling heat heat 2^(nd) heat max area endotherm Cooling area Midpointmax area Midpoint Sample ° C. J/g location ° C. max ° C. J/g Tg ° C. °C. J/g Tg ° C. EVA- 95.4 −112 46.0, 83.6 81.1 101.6 −31.0 95.7 −105−31.8 9E ASEV- 95.7 −113 45.5, 84.0 83.2 105.1 −30.2 96.7 −104 −31.712/.3E EVA- 95.0 −112 47.1, 84.4 82.5 102.3 −31.2 96.5 −103 −32.8 12EASEV- 99.8 −114 46.5, 83.1 87.5 115.0 −30.3 100.5 −112 −31.3 9/.3E

TABLE 4 Primary Amine Determination from Example 39 Average % vinylAverage Average meq acetate mceq mceq Average primary w/w in nitrogen/sulfur/ S/N ratio amine/ copolymer gram gram (NA = not 100 g (H NMRSample Description polymer ±σ polymer ±σ applicable) ±3σ polymerC₇D₈/70° C.) EVA-9 No silane. Aldehyde treated  0.1 +/− 0.1  0.3 +/− 0.3NA NA 9.0 83 hrs. DRIERITE added to Soxhlet MTBE. EVA- No silane.Aldehyde treated  0.1 +/− 0.1  0.2 +/− 0.3 NA NA 11.7 12 25 hrs.DRIERITE added to Soxhlet MTBE. ASEV- Silane, no aldehyde, not 41.1 +/−3.0  0.1 +/− 0.3 0.00 NA 8.9 9/.3 extracted ASEV- Silane, no aldehyde,not 62.1 +/− 3.7  0.2 +/− 0.3 0.00 NA 11.4 12/.3 extracted ASEV- Silane,no aldehyde, 50.5 +/− 3.5  0.2 +/− 0.3 0.00 NA 11.1 12/.3E extractedASEV- Silane, no aldehyde, 37.9 +/− 2.8  0.3 +/− 0.3 0.01 NA 9.0 9/.3Eextracted ASEV- No DRIERITE in rxn vial or 61.5 +/− 4.4  9.0 +/− 1.60.15 +/− 0.02 (0.9) NA 12/.3E Soxhlet MTBE. 70 hrs aldehyde rxn ASEV- NoDRIERITE in rxn vial or 39.1 +/− 4.6  4.8 +/− 1.9 0.14 +/− 0.05 (0.5) NA9/.3E Soxhlet MTBE. 48 hrs aldehyde rxn ASEV- DRIERITE added to rxn vial37.2 +/− 1.9 15.8 +/− 2.1 0.44 +/− 0.03 1.6 NA 9/.3E and Soxhlet MTBE.Thimble not dried. 22 hrs aldehyde rxn ASEV- DRIERITE added to rxn vial55.5 +/− 5.2 20.1 +/− 4.7 0.36 +/− 0.16 (2.0) NA 12/.3E and SoxhletMTBE. Thimble not dried. 22 hrs aldehyde rxn ASEV- DRIERITE added to rxnvial 50.6 +/− 1.8 23.6 +/− 1.7 0.47 +/− 0.03 2.4 NA 12/.3E and SoxhletMTBE and thimble dried. 28 hrs aldehyde rxn ASEV- DRIERITE added to rxnvial 37.1 +/− 3.2 13.0 +/− 3.2 0.35 +/− 0.06 (1.3) NA 9/.3E and SoxhletMTBE and thimble dried. 16 hrs aldehyde rxn ASEV- DRIERITE added to rxnvial 37.1 +/− 2.8 14.5 +/− 2.9 0.43 +/− 0.05 1.5 NA 9/.3E and SoxhletMTBE and thimble dried. 62 hrs aldehyde rxn

Other Embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

1. A polymer comprising greater than about 3 milliequivalent internalized non-tertiary amine per 100 grams of the polymer; wherein the polymer comprises a plurality of internalized polymer-bonded ZNHLSi(OP)_(a)(X)_(3-a-b)(Y)_(b) units; wherein Z is selected from hydrogen or alkyls; wherein L is selected from divalent alkylenes and L may be interrupted by one or more divalent aromatic groups or heteroatomic groups; wherein P represents one or more polymer chains; wherein a is 1 to 3; wherein a+b=1 to 3; wherein each X is a hydrolytically stable group; wherein each Y is a labile group; and wherein X or Y, when multiple, may be independently chosen.
 2. The polymer of claim 1 wherein each X is independently selected from alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted alkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, aryl and substituted aryl groups with the proviso that when 3-a-b=2, X includes divalent alkylene groups thereby cyclized.
 3. The polymer of claim 1 wherein each Y is independently selected from the groups consisting of unsubstituted or substituted ester, alkoxy, aryloxy, alkyl carbonyloxy, arylcarbonyloxy, hydroxyl, alkylcarboxamino, halo, arylcarboxamido, amino, and ester equivalent groups.
 4. A polymer comprising greater than about 1 milliequivalent internalized primary amine per 100 grams of the polymer; wherein the polymer comprises a plurality of internalized polymer-bonded ZNHLSi(OP)_(a)(X)_(3-a-b)(Y)_(b) units; wherein Z is hydrogen, alkyl, or substituted alkyl including amino-substituted alkyl; wherein L is a divalent alkylene or substituted alkylene linking group and L may be interrupted by one or more divalent aromatic groups or heteroatomic groups; wherein P represents one or more polymer chains; wherein a is 1 to 3; wherein a+b=1 to 3; wherein each X is a hydrolytically stable group; wherein each Y is a labile group; and wherein X or Y, when multiple, may be independently chosen.
 5. The polymer of claim 4 wherein the polymer has a gel content or is less than about 10% by weight of the polymer.
 6. The polymer of claim 1 wherein the polymer comprises a T-type siloxy structure, a D-type siloxy structure, or an M-type siloxy structure.
 7. A bonding composition comprising the polymer of claim 1 and a phase active agent.
 8. The bonding composition of claim 7 wherein the phase active agent is selected from the group consisting of a phosphonium salt, an ammonium salt, a fluoroaliphatic sulfonyl compound, and an arylcarboxylic acid.
 9. A bonding composition comprising the reaction product of an amino substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent and a polymer that has a plurality of polar functionalities combinatively reactive with the silane ester or ester equivalent to displace the ester or ester equivalent groups and wherein the polymer is covalently bonded to the silane via the silicon atom.
 10. The composition of claim 9 wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of ethylenevinyl alcohol copolymer, ethylenevinyl acetate copolymer, polyesters, polycarbonates, polyamides and polyimides.
 11. The composition of claim 9 wherein the amino substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent is selected from the group consisting of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, (aminoethylaminomethyl)phenethyltrimethoxysilane, (aminoethylaminomethyl)phenethyltriethoxysilane, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, 4-aminobutyltrimethoxysilane, 4-aminobutyltriethoxysilane, 3-aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane, 3-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyldimethylmethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyldimethylethoxysilane,


12. A bonding composition comprising the reaction product of an amino substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent and a polyamide or a thermoplastic polyurethane wherein the reaction product has internalized Si—O—Si and NHR groups.
 13. A bonding composition comprising the reaction product of an amino substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent and a polymer with anhydride functionality wherein the amount of aminosilane is sufficient to prevent significant crosslinking; wherein the reaction product has internalized Si—O—Si and NHR groups.
 14. A process for making the composition of claim 1 comprising extruding a mixture of an amino substituted organosilane ester or ester equivalent and a polymer that has a plurality of polar functionalities combinatively reactive with the silane ester or ester equivalent and wherein the polymer is covalently bonded to the silane via the silicon atom.
 15. A process for making a multilayer bonded article comprising co-extruding or laminating the composition of claim 1 to a fluoropolymer.
 16. A multilayer bonded article comprising the polymer of claim 1 bonded to a second polymer, which the second polymer may be fluorinated or not.
 17. The multilayer bonded article of claim 16 wherein the fluoropolymer layer is selected from the group consisting of THV, HTE, PVDF, ETFE and combinations thereof.
 18. The multilayer bonded article of claim 16 wherein the second polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polyurethanes, polyesters, polyimides, polycarbonates, polyureas, polyacrylates and polymethylmethacrylate. 